Apparatus for gauging and sorting articles



Dec. 27, 1966 c. G. PITKIN ET AL APPARATUS FOR GAUGING AND SORTI'NGARTICLES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1965 INVE NTO RS COURTNEY G.PITKIN JO H N J- FA HEY 83% M ATTORNEYS C. G. PITKIN ET AL APPARATUS FORGAUGING AND SORTING ARTICLES Dec. 27, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov.8,

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United States Patent 3,294,235 APPARATUS FOR GAUGHNG AND SGRTENGARTICLES Courtney G. Pitkin, University City, and John J. Fahey,

Webster Groves, Mo., assignors to Lewis-Howe Company, St. Louis, Mm, acorporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 322,443 11 Claims.(Cl. 209-104) The present invention relates generally to machines forgauging and sorting articles, and more particularly to apparatus foraccurately sizing articles such as tablets, candy, washers, buttons andlike disc-shaped articles, as well as objects of other shapes.

In the manufacture of various articles, measurement or inspection toassure that such articles are within the manufacturing tolerancesprescribed therefor creates a perplexing problem in many industries. Theproblem is particularly acute in the pharmaceutical industry in themanufacture of tablets due to the extremely high speeds at which tabletsare formed in rotary tablet presses or other tablet machines and, moreimportant, due to the criticality of producing tablets of uniform dosagemeeting a series of prescribed standards including size, weight,hardness, etc. Although some tablet standards such as hardness andweight can be tested by periodic laboratory inspections, both of thesecharacteristics of the final tablet can to a certain extent becontrolled by maintaining a umform granulation or other form of materialand by accurate size measurement; although the size of tablets producedon even a single rotary press cannot accurately be measured bylaboratory inspection only, for several reasons. In the first place, aconventional rotary tablet press contains several die cavities in whichopposed punches are reciprocated to form tablets and, due to wear orother factors, tablets of different size (thickness) may be produced ona single press and, in considering deviations from predeterminedprescribcd tablet dimensions, such tablets may be oversized (too thick)as well as undersized (too thin). A second important considerationconcerns techniques of tablet packaging wherein tablets are fed directlyfrom one press to a packaging machine or wherein tablets are accumulatedin bulk from several presses and then fed into packing machines. Oneproblem of both methods is that the collection of a number of tabletsfor a single container frequently results in several oversized orseveral undersized tablets being grouped together thereby causing jamsor breakage which effects stoppage of the packaging machines. Thecritical problem, of course, is providing a correct number of tablets ofproper dosage. Y

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a sizing orgauging device that will operate at high production speeds and that willaccurately and individually sort tablets or other disc-shaped articlesso that oversized and undersized tablets will be separated from thetablets falling within the prescribed manufacturing tolerance therefor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple, lowpriced, extremely sensitive gauging apparatus including means fortransferring articles from a manufacturing station.

Still another object is to provide an apparatus for sortingpharmaceutical tablets according to the thickness thereof, and to whichthe tablets are transferred from the press means in a self-propellingand self-dusting movement.

These and still other objects and advantages will be set out more fullyhereinafter.

Briefly, the invention is embodied in an apparatus for gauging andsorting articles including a pair of spaced rotating disc membersdefining therebetween stepped groove means including an annular channelfor receiving articles of predetermined size, and having other means forreceiving or diverting articles whose dimensions fall outside of thepredetermined size.

The invention is also embodied in the-parts and in the combinations andarrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In theaccompanying drawings which form a part of the specification and whereinlike numerals refer to like parts wherever they occur:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view, partly in section, showing an apparatusembodying the invention, together with rotary tablet press means and atransfer system to and from the apparatus,

FIGURE 2 is a greatly enlarged plan view showing the apparatus andarticle transfer means thereto with the rotary tablet press means beingpartially illustrated,

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the apparatus, transfermeans and rotary tablet press means taken substantially along line 33 ofFIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the apparatus taken substantially alongline 4-4 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 5 is a greatly enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of theapparatus per se,

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of the article feeding means takensubstantially along line 6-6 of FIG- URE 3,

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view simi lar to FIGURE 5showing a multi-channel apparatus for sizing tablets from two feedinglines, and

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 showing another modification ofthe apparatus.

For purposes of disclosure of the present invention reference will be tothe manufacture of pharmaceutical tablets T on a rotary tablet press RPas partiaily illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. It will be understood thatthe rotary tablet press is conventional in construction and prior patentart such as Abbe et al. Patent No. 2,969,753, Bailey et al. Patent No.2,944,493 or other patents may be referred to for fuller details on thegeneral construc tion and operation of rotary tablet presses. It should,of course, be noted that the cited patents relate to the formation ofmulti-layer tablets whereas in the present disclosure the rotary tabletpress RP is a double acting press in which each die forms two singlelayer tablets T in each revolution thereof.

The rotary tablet press RP includes a die head 19 having vertical diecavities 11 extending therethrough. Upper punches 12 are disposed abovethe die head 10 and each punch is vertically aligned with a die cavity11 and is guided in a reciprocable vertical movement by an upper punchguide 12'. Lower punches 13 are disposed beneath the die head 10 andeach lower punch is vertically aligned and extends into a die cavity 11and may be guided for reciprocable vertical movement therein by a lowerguide 13. The die head 10 and punch guides 12 and 13' are securedtogether and rotate in a horizontal path carrying the upper and lowerpunches 12 and 13 about a fixed base or pedestal 14 of the rotary pressRP. Upper and lower cam tracks (not shown) are secured above and belowthe upper and lower punches 12 and 1 3 and are secured to the pedestal14. The cam tracks effect reciprocation of the upper and lower punchesinto and out of the die cavities 11 to thereby perform a sequence ofoperations to form the two tablets T in each die cavity in each completerevolution of the die head 10.

Referring to FIG. 1, granulated material or powder is fed onto the uppersurface 10 of die head 10 at each of diametrally opposed materialreceiving stations 15 and 16. The leading edge of each of the materialreceiving stations is defined by a guide plate for diverting formedtablets T from thedie cavity circle, the guide plate for the stationcomprising a front shoe 17 and the guide plate for the station 16forming a back shoe 18. As each die cavity approaches the front shoe 17,the lower punch 13 rides on an elevated ejection cam (not shown) toposition the formed tablet T above the level of the die head surface 10and the corresponding upper punch 12 is elevated above the die head 10.The formed tablet contacts the front shoe 17 and is diverted outwardlyfrom the die cavity 11 and the lower punch 13 then leaves the ejectioncam and assumes a lower position extending part way into the die cavity11 so that granulated material falls by gravity or is forced into thedie cavity as it passes through the material receiving station 15. Asthe die cavity rotates through the material receiving station, the lowerpunch follows the lower cam track to a predetermined vertical positionand passes under a leveling blade 19 resting on the upper surface 10' ofthe die head 10 to thereby remove excess tableting material and producea predetermined volume of material in the die cavity from which thetablet is to be formed. In the traverse of the die cavity from theleveling blade 19 to the back shoe 18, the lower punch 13 is firstlowered in the die cavity to drop the level of material below the diehead surface 10', the upper punch 12 is lowered into the die cavity,then the upper and lower punches simultaneously pass across pressurerolls (not shown) which force the working ends of the punches togetherto compress the tablet material and form the tablet T, and the upperpunch 12 is then raised to its elevated position and the lower punch 13contacts the tablet ejection cam to raise the tablet T to a pointslightly above the surface 10 of the die head 10 as the back shoe 18 isapproached.

It will be seen from the foregoing that each die forms a single tablet Tin the first half revolution of each die cavity 11 from the front shoe17 to the back shoe 18. A similar sequence of steps takes place duringthe traverse of each die cavity under the back shoe 18 through thematerial feeding station 16 and during traversal of the die cavities tothe front shoe 17 whereby another tablet T is formed by each die in thesecond half revolution thereof.

The guide plate or back shoe 18 extends angularly to the arcuate path oftravel of the die cavities to divert the first set of tablets Toutwardly from the die cavities 11 toward the outer periphery of the diehead surface 10. A protective guard or railing 20 is provided around thedie head surface 10 to support the tablets T on the surface 10' as theyare moved to a first discharge station 21.

In prior tablet manufacture using a rotary tablet press RP of the doubleacting type, tablets T have been discharged to a bulk conveyor orcontainer by merely extending the front shoe 17 in an angular directionacross the path of the die cavities to a discharge chute at which therailing 20 ended so that both the first and second sets of tablets Tformed in the machine were all removed and discharged to a commonconveyor or storage container. The linear spacing of the tablets movedto the outer periphery of the die head 10 and against the railing 20 isgreater than the spacing of the tablets as formed in the die cavitiesdue to the closer proximity of the cavities 11 to the center of therotary press. This linearity of tablet spacing created a problemovercome by the present invention, as will be discussed more fullyhereinafter.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2-5, the apparatus for gauging andsorting articles according to the present invention is designatedgenerally by the letters GA and includes a transfer device or deliverymeans TD. The apparatus GA, per se, comprises a sizing wheel formed ofspaced apart discs 26 and 27 shown with surface plates 26 and 27 securedin opposed relation to define groove means 28 therebetween. However, thediscs 26 and 27 may have finished surface areas instead of surfaceplates.

As shown best in FIGS. 3 and 5, the surface plates 26' and 27' aremachined or otherwise formed to precise dimensions to provide arelatively narrow central portion 22, an annular intermediate portion 23to accommodate tablets T within the prescribed manufacturing tolerancetherefor, and a relatively large annular outer portion 24 to accommodateoversized tablets T. The discs and plates have central openings 30receiving hub members 32 and 33. A shim or spacing member 34 is providedbetween the discs or plates 26, 27 to determine the precise spacing ofthe surface areas. The discs and plates are secured on an axle 35between a stop member 36 and a nut 37 or like tightening means forrigidly holding the discs in fixed spaced relation. As shown in FIGS. 2and 4-, the axle 35 is journaled in suitable bearings 38 secured onframe members 39, and a sprocket wheel 40 on one end of the axle 35 isconnected through a suitable sprocket train 41 to a motor 42 or likedrive means secured on the frame 39.

Referring again particularly to FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, it will be noted thatthe transfer means TD is rigidly mounted on the pedestal 14 by suitablebrackets 45. The transfer means forms a tablet feeding channel havingone end mounted in juxtaposition with the outer periphery of the diehead 10 and the other end extends into juxtaposition with the peripheryof the sizing wheel 25. Inasmuch as the groove means 28 formed betweenthe plates 26' and 27 of the wheel 25 is mounted in a vertical plane andthe tablets T are formed and carried in a horizontal plane by the diehead 10, an important function of the transfer device is to divert thetablets T from the die head surface 10 and turn these tablets into avertical plane for traversal to the sizing wheel 25. Accordingly, thetransfer device includes an arcuate plate or deflector bar 47 extendingpast the edge of the die head 10 and mounted in juxtaposition with theupper surface 10 thereof for contact by the first set of tablets Tcarried against the railing 20 by the die head 10, the tabletscontacting the deflector bar 47 at point a. It will be noted that thedeflector bar 47 extends substantially tangentially to the direction oftravel of the tablets T on the die head surface 10 and the tablets arethus deflected in an angular direction away from the deflector bar 47and against a curved plow 48 secured in opposed relation with thedeflector bar. The railing 20 ends at the plow 48 and the deflector barand plow form an enlarged throat to the transfer device, the tablets Tcontacting the curved plow 48 at point 11 and being turned edgewise andfalling between the deflector bar and the DlOW substantially at point 0.

The transfer device TD includes a trough member 49 having spaced sidewalls 50 and 51, an upper feed channel supporting base member 52 and alower dust receiving tray 53. A plurality of bracket members 54 aresecured to the upper base member 52 in opposed pairs and an elongatedopening 55 is provided in the base member 52 between the brackets 54substantially the entire extent of the feed channel. The tablet carryingportion of the feed channel includes opposed pairs of wire or rod likemembers 56 and 57 extending from the deflector bar 47 and plow 48 to thesizing wheel 25, the wire or rod members in each pair being verticallyspaced on each bracket 54 to define the sides of the channel and anotherwire or rod like member 58 being centrally p0sitioned between and belowthe opposed pairs of side wires 56 and 57 to form a center rail on whichthe discharged tablets T ride during transfer between the rotary pressand the sizing wheel. The side wires 56 and 57 assist in guiding thetablets and keeping them on the center wire 58. The end of the feedchannel is provided with a tongue 60 into which the end of the centerwire 58 is recessed, at 59, the tongue extending into the groove means28 between the spaced plates 26' and 27' of the sizing wheel 25. The endof the tongue 60 is downwardly curved, at 61, and terminates in spacedrelation with the,

shim 34 or axle 35 of the gauging apparatus to provide for free gravityfall of the undersized tablets T.

The outer edges of the plates 26' and 27' may be curved or provided witha flared opening defined by diverging margins 62 to facilitate thistablet feeding therebetween. The spacing of the wire members 56 and 57is preferably less than the spacing between the plates 26 and 27 at theperiphery of the flared opening 62 of the wheel 25 and the feed channelis centered on the outer channel to deliver the tablets T directly intothe groove means 28 without striking the edge of the wheel.

As previously discussed, undersized tablets T being fed into the groovemeans 28 will follow the tongue track 60 and fall through the clearancebetween the curved tongue portion 61 and the wheel axle onto a suitabletray or discharge means 63 to a scrap container or conveyor 64. TabletsT within the prescribed manufacturing tolerance will be too large topass into the central portion 22 of the wheel 25 and will remain in theintermediate annular groove 23 and be carried to a discharge tongue 65extending into the groove means 28 and having a free end juxtaposed withthe central portion 23 thereof. The tongue 65 connects to a chute,conveyor or the like 66 to which acceptable tablets T are fed forpackaging. Another tongue 67 extends into the groove means and has afree end juxtaposed with the intermediate portion 24, the tongue 67being adapted to receive oversized tablets T and discharge them onto achute or tray 68 to a suitable scrap container or conveyor 69. It willbe understood that undersized and oversized tablets are not thrown awaybut are usually sent back for pulverizing and regranulation and thusreused in the tableting operation. For instance, in FIG. 1 the trays ordischarge chutes 63 and 68 for rejected tablets may be connected to asingle conveyor to a regranulation station.

In the tableting operation, tablets T are formed and carried on the diehead surface at the relatively high rotation speeds of the die head andthe tablets are maintained on the die head by the outer railing bycentrifugal force thereby producing a high tablet discharge speed andangle of deflection into the feed channel. The impact of the tab-letsagainst the deflector bar 47 causes a rebound of the tablets against theplow 48 which turns the tablets on edge and directs them into the feedchannel TD. The linear spacing of the tablets on the die head surface10', as well as discharge speed, is an important factor in assuringindividual tablet inspection by the sizing wheel, that is, indetermining the speed at which the sizing wheel must rotate in order toprevent overriding of tablets in the groove means 28 or deflection ofthe tablets out of the sizing wheel. It will be noted that the sizingwheel 25 rotates in a counterclockwise directlon as shown in FIG. 3 andthat the wheel is positioned below the level of the die head surface 10.The downward angle of the transfer device TD should be great enough sothat gravity maintains or increases the speed of the tablets to keep thelinear spacing thereof to prevent interference between tablets either inthe feed channel or at the sizing wheel 25. The rate of rotation of thesizing wheel 25 should be at a circumferential rate at leastsubstantially equal to the speed of the tablets in the feed channel(minus the distance between tablets T) in order that each tablet willpass into the groove means 28 and be diverted to its appropriatedischarge path without interference with the preceding or succeedingtablets. It will be noted that the feed channel is preferably arrangedat an angle to the sizing wheel defining an extended chord across theupper part of the central portion 22 above the axis of rotation. Theangularity of the feed channel to the direction of rotation of theintermediate and outer gauging tracks is such that the tablets T arepicked up by the wheel (unless the tablets are undersized) and carriedover the top to the proper discharge tongue 65 or 67 without bouncingout of the groove means 28 or chipping the tablets. The presentapparatus will gauge and sort tablets that are concave, convex or havinga tapering or uneven wedge-shaped thickness resulting from uneven wearor machining of the punch heads, such tablets being sized to maximumdimension.

It will be understood that the critical parts of the sizing wheel 25 arethe annular channel 23, which is formed to receive a maximum thicknesstablet, and the central portion 22, which is machined to receive atablet below the minimum acceptable thickness. The axial differentialbetween these areas defines the tolerance range of the tablets that willbe accepted for packaging or the like. The shim 34 actually sets thedimensions between the opposed plates 26 and 27' to establish themaximum and minimum for tablet gauging, and other shims may besubstituted to vary the spacing between plates 26' and 27' toaccommodate different tablet specifications.

The tablets T are self-dusting during movement in the feeding channel,the Wire members 56, 57 and 58 being subject to vibration and providingspaces therebetween through which loose powder or dust on the surface ofthe tablets will fall and be collected in the tray 53. In fact, sincethe tablets T are formed of compressed powder, they are subject toattrition and may continue to produce dust during movement. Therefore,there is a tendency for dust to accumulate throughout the feed channeland it is important that projections or flat surfaces be minimized toprevent dust from bridging across the tablet track or'wire 58. Theprincipal self-dusting feature is that the tablets T tend to wipe thetrack over which they move.

Referring again to FIG. 1 in which the gauging apparatus includes a pairof spaced similar sizing wheels 25 each having a separate feed channelextending to the rotary tablet press of the double acting type, it willbe seen that the first set of tablets T (produced in the first halfcycle of die cavity rotation) are diverted to the outer railing 20thereby increasing the linear spacing therebetween. In order to assureproper linear spacing between tablets T of the second set so that all ofthe tablets pro duced by the single machine will be similarly spaced anddelivered at uniform rates for inspection by the sizing wheels, thefront shoe 17 diverts the .second set against a short outer railing 26'and to a second discharge station 21. In other words, the front shoe 17cannot merely be extended to form a deflector bar with an opposed plowarrangement similar to that described with reference to FIG. 2 since thediversion of tablets from the die cavity circle to the outer railing andthe added effect of centrifugal force thereon is a factor in producingthe proper linear spacing of the tablets.

Referring to FIG. 7, it will be seen that a multiple sizing wheel isillustrated for gauging tablets T from different feed lines. The partsand construction are simlar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 and likenumerals in the series are used to identify like parts. It will be clearthat a central disc is provided between the discs 126 and 127 and hasfacing plates on each side machined with the surfaces 122, 123 and 124and spaced by shims (not shown) to define two groove means 128. Amultiple sizing wheel 125 may be used in the FIG. 1 system by arrangingthe two feed lines to converge toward the two groove means 128, althoughthe input of tablets should be parallel with the side walls of thegroove means.

Referring to FIG. 8, it will be seen that a modified sizing wheel 225may be provided with a different surface plate arrangement in order toeffect greater economies in manufacture and in change of the sizingwheel to accommodate tablets or other articles of different tolerances.In the the FIG. 8 embodiment, one of the surface plates 226' is providedwith a smooth surface 270, and the surface plate 227 of the opposed discmember 227 is machined to provide the central portion 222 and theintermediate and outer annular groove steps 223, 224 at thepredetermined dimensions or tolerances required for measurement oftablets of prescribed thickness.

From the foregoing it Will be understood that a novel gauging andsorting apparatus has been provided to produce improved accuracy in themeasurement of individual articles produced by high speed equipment.

It will be understood that articles of different shapes can beaccurately sized by the present apparatus but may require other transfermeans for delivery of such articles. It will also be understood that thegauging apparatus is not limited to three channels or gauging areas andmay be used for sorting different sizes of objects, such as washers, orfor sorting different objects based on a size differential. In fact, twoor more sizing wheels 25 may be arranged in series in an articledischarge line for sorting several sizes or classes of acceptablearticles from other inacceptable articles.

The invention herein is intended to cover all changes and modificationsof the present disclosure that will be readily apparent to all skilledin the art, and the invention is only to be limited by the claims whichfollow.

What we claim is:

1. A gauging apparatus for receiving and individually sizing and sortingarticles within a predetermined manufacturing tolerance from bothundersized and oversized articles, comprising rotating wheel meanshaving disc members mounted on a common axis in fixed spaced relation,said disc members having surface areas in opposed relation and defininggroove means including a central groove means portion defining themaximum dimension of undersized articles, an annular intermediate groovemeans portion circumscribing said central portion and defining themaximum dimension of articles within the manufacturing tolerancetherefor, an annular outer groove means portion circumscribing saidintermediate portion and defining the maximum dimension of articles thatwill be accommodated by said groove means, and means for separately andsuccessively delivering individual articles from a source into saidgroove means of said rotating wheel means, one of said disc membershaving a smooth surface area and the opposed surface area of the otherdisc member being provided with the circumscribing intermediate andouter portions, Which are off set axially from each other and thecentral portion to provide a stepped surface.

2. The gauging apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the annularshoulders of conjunction between said cen tral and intermediate portionsand between said intermediate and outer portions are tapered tofacilitate passage of articles of different width between the gaugingareas.

3. A gauging apparatus for receiving and individually sizing and sortingarticles within a predetermined manufacturing tolerance from bothundersized and oversized articles, comprising rotating wheel meanshaving disc members mounted on a common axis in fixed spaced relation,said disc members having surface areas in opposed relation and defininggroove means including a central groove means portion defining themaximum dimension of undersized articles, an annular intermediate groovemeans portion circumscribing said central portion and defining themaximum dimension of articles within the manufacturing tolerancetherefor, an annular outer groove means portion circumscribing saidintermediate portion and defining the maximum dimension of articles thatwill be accommodated by said groove means, and means for separately andsuccessively delivering individual articles from a source into saidgroove means of said rotating Wheel means, said disc members being bothprovided with opposed stepped surface areas, the adjacent areas beinginterconnected by tapering shoulders to facilitate passage of articles,and said groove means defined by said surface areas being of reduceddimension at said axis relative to the outer periphery thereof.

4. A gauging apparatus for receiving all articles from a source andindividually sizing and sorting articles within a predeterminedmanufacturing tolerance from other articles that are relativelyundersized and oversized comprising rotating wheel means having discmembers mounted on a common axis in fixed spaced relation, said discmembers having surface areas defining groove means therebetween, saidsurface areas being formed within predetermined tolerances to provide acentral groove means portion defining the maximum dimension ofundersized articles, to provide an annular intermediate groove meansportion circumscribing said central portion and defining the maximumdimension of articles within the manufacturing tolerance therefor, andto provide an annular outer groove means portion circumscribing saidintermediate portion and defining the maximum dimension of articles thatwill be accommodated by said groove means, means for feeding articles inspaced relation into said groove means at a substantially uniform rate,and said wheel means having a predetermined speed of rotation toaccommodate and remove articles from said feeding means at substantiallythe delivery rate thereof.

5. An apparatus for gauging and sorting disc-shaped articles comprisingtransfer means having a rectilinear feed channel in a downwardlysloping, gravity feed position from an article delivery source, saidfeed channel in cluding wire means for carrying said articles inlinearly spaced, rolling movement; sizing wheel means having spacedapart plates mounted for conjoint rotation about a common axis anddefining stepped groove means therebetween, said groove means having arelatively narrow central portion circumscribing the axis of rotation,an annular intermediate portion circumscribing said central portion andan annular outer portion circumscribing said intermediate portion, saidintermediate portion being a predetermined width and larger than saidcentral portion and said outer portion being a width larger than saidpredetermined width of said intermediate portion, said transfer devicebeing centered on the outer portion of said groove means to deliver saidarticles between said spaced plates, the end of said transfer devicecomprising tongue means extending into said groove means above the axisof rotation and terminating in spaced relation with said axis to permitpassage of articles therebetween, and means for receiving gauged andsorted tablets passing through and around said sizing wheel means.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 in which said transfer meansslopes at a predetermined angle to said sizing wheel means sufiicient tomaintain the linear spacing of said articles, and said sizing wheelmeans is rotated at a predetermined rate for accommodating said articlesat the transfer speed thereof to minimize engagement between articles.

- '7. An apparatus for gauging and sorting disc-shaped articles, saidapparatus comprising transfer means having a rectilinear feed channel ina downwardly sloping, gravity feed position from a source of articles,means delivering said articles from said source in spaced relation, saidfeed channel including wire means for carrying said articles in spacedrolling movement; sizing wheel means having spaced apart plates mountedfor conjoint rotation about a common axis and defining stepped groovemeans therebetween, said groove means having a relatively narrow centralportion circumscribing the axis of rotation, an annular intermediateportion circumscribing said central portion and an annular outer portioncircumscribing said intermediate portion, said intermediate portionbeing a predetermined width and larger than said central portion andsaid outer portion being a width larger than said predetermined width ofsaid intermediate portion, said wire means of said transfer deviceextending to adjacent the periphery of said sizing wheel means and beingcentered on the outer portion of said groove means to deliver saidarticles between said spaced plates, the end of said transfer devicecomprising tongue means extending into said groove means above the axisof rotation and terminating in spaced relation with said axis, and meansfor receiving gauged and sorted articles passing through and around saidsizing wheel means including first discharge means extending into saidgroove means substantially on an extended line of said tongue means andhaving a free end juxtaposed with said intermediate portion forreceiving articles therefrom, second discharge means above said firstdischarge means extending into said groove means and having a free endjuxtaposed with said outer portion for receiving articles therefrom inadvance of the discharge of articles to said first discharge means, andthird discharge means below said sizing wheel means for receivingarticles passing into said central portion and falling through saidgroove means.

8. An apparatus for gauging and sorting disc-shaped tab-lets and thelike having circular edges and opposed surfaces, said tablets beingformed in a plurality of die cavities arranged in closely spaced annularrelationship in a rotating die head of a tablet press, said tabletsbeing diverted from the die cavity annulus in a radially outwarddirection against guard means circumscribing the outer periphery of thedie head to increase the linear spacing between tablets and said tabletsbeing carried against said guard means with their circular edges in ahorizontal plane to discharge means from the tablet press: saidapparatus comprising transfer means having one end mounted at thedischarge means of said tablet press and diverting said tablets fromsaid die head and turning all of said tablets vertically onto thecircular edges thereof, said transfer means having an elongated feedchannel in a downwardly sloping, gravity feed position from said one endand including wire means for carrying said tablets in spaced rollingmovement away from said tablet press; sizing wheel means having spacedapart plates mounted for conjoint rotation about a common axis anddefining stepped groove means therebetween, said groove means having arelatively narrow central portion circumscribing the axis of rotation,an annular intermediate portion circumscribing said central portion andan annular outer portion circumscribing said intermediate portion, saidintermediate portion being a predetermined width and larger than saidcentral portion and said outer portion being a width larger than saidpredetermined width of said intermediate portion, said wire means ofsaid transfer device extending to adjacent the periphery of said sizingwheel means and being centered on the outer portion of said groove meansto deliver said tablets between said spaced plates, the other end ofsaid transfer device comprising tongue means extending into said groovemeans above the axis of rotation and terminating in spaced relation withsaid axis, and means for receiving gauged and sorted tablets passingthrough and around said sizing wheel means including first dischargemeans extending into said groove means substantially on an extended lineof said tongue means and having a free end juxtaposed with saidintermediate portion for receiving tablets therefrom, second dischargemeans above said first discharge means extending into said groove meansand having a free end juxtaposed with said outer portion for receivingtablets therefrom in advance of the discharge of tablets to said firstdischarge means, and third discharge means below said sizing wheel meansfor receiving tablets passing into said central portion and fallingthrough said groove means.

9. An apparatus of the type defined in claim 8 for use with amultiple-acting tablet press in which at least first and second sets oftablets are formed in first and second portions of each die cavityrevolution, and further comprising first and second shoes angularlypositioned relative to the path of die cavity movement thereunder, saidfirst and second shoes each diverting formed tablets outwardly of thedie cavity annulus against first and second guard means for delivery ofsaid sets of tablets to first and second circumferentially spaceddischarge means from said tablet press.

10. An apparatus of the type defined in claim 8 for use with amultiple-acting tablet press in which at least first and second sets oftablets are formed, means for diverting the tablets in each set in aradial direction from the die cavity annulus to increase the linearspacing therebetween and moving said sets of tablets to differentdischarge means from said tablet press, and separate transfer means forreceiving said sets of tablets and conveying them to similar sizingwheel means.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8 in which said one end of saidtransfer device comprises opposed defiector bar and plow means fordeflecting said tablets and translating the rotary and centrifugalmovement thereof into a rectilinear gravity feed of said tablets to saidsizing wheel means, said plow means including a flat surface portionadjacent to said die head at the end of said guard means and receivingsaid tablets under the centrifugal impetus thereof, said deflector barmeans extending across the extended tablet path on said die head toassure deflection of all tablets onto said plow means, and said plowmeans also including a downwardly curving portion in position to receivetablets from said deflector bar means and turn them into verticalposition into said feed channel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 860,147 7/ 1907Orton 209-104 1,277,782 9/ 1918 Tucker. 2,564,143 8/1951 Alsip.2,839,252 6/1958 Hall 10717 2,944,493 7/1960 Bailey et al. 107172,946,298 7/ 1960 Doepel et al. 10717 2,969,753 1/ 1961 Abbe et al.10717 FOREIGN PATENTS 575,669 4/ 1933 Germany.

EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner.

4. A GAUGING APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING ALL ARTICLES FROM A SOURCE ANDINDIVIDUALLY SIZING AND SORTING ARTICLES WITHIN A PREDETERMINEDMANUFACTURING TOLERANCE FROM OTHER ARTICLES THAT ARE RELATIVELYUNDERSIZED AND OVERSIZED COMPRISING ROTATING WHEEL MEANS HAVING DISCMEMBERS MOUNTED ON A COMMON AXIS IN FIXED SPACED RELATION, SAID DISCMEMBERS HAVING SURFACE AREAS DEFINING GROOVE MEANS THEREBETWEEN, SAIDSURFACE AREAS BEING FORMED WITHIN PREDETERMINED TOLERANCES TO PROVIDE ACENTRAL GROOVE MEANS PORTION DEFINING THE MAXIMUM DIMENSION OFUNDERSIZED ARTICLES, TO PROVIDE AN ANNULAR INTERMEDIATE GROOVE MEANSPORTION CIRCUMSCRIBING SAID CENTRAL PORTION AND DEFINING THE MAXIMUMDIMENSION OF ARTICLES WITHIN THE MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES THEREFOR, ANDTO PROVIDE AN ANNULAR OUTER GROOVE MEANS PORTION CIRCUMSCRIBING SAIDINTERMEDIATE PORTION AND DEFIING THE MAXIMUM DIMENSION OF ARTICLES THATWILL BE ACCOMMODATED BY SAID GROOVE MEANS, MEANS FOR FEEDING ARTICLES INSPACED RELATION INTO SAID GROOVE MEANS AT A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM RATE,AND SAID WHEEL MEANS HAVING A PREDETERMINED SPEED OF ROTATION TOACCOMMODATE AND REMOVE ARTICLES FROM SAID FEEDING MEANS AT SUBSTANTIALLYTHE DELIVERY RATE THEREOF.